WES Hoolahan was delighted to mark his return to the Norwich City team with an assist in the Canaries’ 1-0 triumph over Crystal Palace at Carrow Road.

The Republic of Ireland international started his first league match since the opening day and set up Gary Hooper for the game’s only goal on 30 minutes.

“I haven’t played for a while so it was nice to be out there, and obviously you’ve got the run around and show the manager what he’s missing and hopefully I did that today,” said Hoolahan after the match.

“I’d just seen Hoops on the corner of the six-yard box by himself so I thought I’d just give it to him to score. I was tempted to go for it myself but I saw the ‘keeper come out so it was easier to pass to Hoops at the time.

“Hoops thrives on the service and if you set him up, he’ll stick them away – his record speaks for itself.”

He admits it’s always difficult being out of the first-team picture but hopes this game can prove the turning point in his and the team’s season.

“It’s very hard. As a footballer you want to play every game and be involved,” he added.

“We have a big squad and a lot of talented players in the team so it’s nice to just be out there and playing with the boys.

“Obviously we can’t rest on what we’ve achieved today and hopefully we can just go on from here and push up the table.

“We’ve got two tough away fixtures but we go into them with confidence from today’s win and hopefully we can pick up some points.”

WES HAPPY TO BE BACK

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